I'm new here but I really enjoy them. I love history. My dad was in Viet Nam in 1968.My grandfather was in WW2 in Italy but don't know what year.

If he was in Italy proper, he was almost certainly dealing with some part of the Winter Line. After we took Sicily, we waited a bit, but then we pretty quickly got into Italy and then up to the Winter Line. From there, things went south (or rather, DIDN'T go North) for a helluva long time.

Part of it was German troop quality, including Kesselring, who proved himself (although an air force guy) a masterful defensive tactician. Part of the problem was the Italian landscape, which was brutal. And another part was that we kept pulling forces out in preparation for Operation Overlord.

EDIT: P.S. thanks to your family for their service to our nation.

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